Bodily orifice seal



y 31, 1950 J. L. MARCO BODILY ORIFICE SEAL Filed Feb. 8, 1957 JOHN L. MARCO INVENTOR ATTORNEY Unite States Patent BODILY ORIFICE SEAL John L. Marco, 246 th Ave., New York, NY.

Filed Feb. 8, 1957, Ser. No. 638,999

4 Claims. (Cl. 128-285) My invention relates to tampons or plugs for sealing off various orifices of the body and in particular to a vaginal non-absorbent tampon for post operative or post treatment use where the retention of liquids is to be desired.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a vaginal tampon which can be compressed to a small size for insertion into the vaginal tract in such a manner that, when in place, the tampon automatically expands and seals off the tract by assuming the exact contour of the surrounding tissue to the extent that change of the contour of the tissue will be immediately compensated for by a corresponding change in the shape of the tampon.

Another object of my invention is to provide a sealing tampon which is comfortable, non-spermicidal and completely non reactive to bodily tissues, bodily fluids and to most if not all medications which it might encounter.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the specifications and drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my invention with certain interior portions shown in dotted line.

Fig. 2 is a cross section of my invention taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross section of a body orifice with my invention in position therein.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of my invention with the outer cover removed.

Referring to the drawings, 4 is an annular piece of elastic material, preferably constructed of light sponge rubber and having a central orifice 5 cut out of its center. Part 6 is a second annular piece of sponge rubber smaller than annular piece 4 and adapted to abut on the rear of piece 4. The rubber pieces 4 and 6 are kept in contact the one with the other by passing a loop of cord 7 or other suitable material through both pieces 4 and 6, as may be seen by reference to Figs. 1 and 4. The loop of cord is tied at 8 to keep 4 and 6 in loosely held abutment and the ends of the cord allowed to extend a considerable length beyond the knot 8 before being cut off, thus providing a convenient means for extraction of the tampon from the bodily orifice, when the tampon is no longer needed.

The pieces 4 and 6 containing the loop of cord 7 are now inserted into a bag 9 and the mouth of the bag loosely closed by any convenient means such as by basting with thread or by constriction of the mouth with plastic tape. Bag 9 is preferably made of polyethylene because I have found that this material is non-spermicidal, non-reactive to bodily tissues and fluids and nonreactive to most medications.

It can now be seen, by reference to Fig. 3, that the entire device can be squeezed into a small lump, the larger disc 4 being assisted in contraction by its central orifice 5. When squeezed together the entire device is inserted into the bodily orifice then allowed to expand until it assumes the contour of the surrounding tissue at the sides of the orifice thus effectively sealing off the passage with a non-absorbent dam. By reason of the fact that the bag 9 is not tightly sealed at 10, air can escape when the device is squeezed together for insertion and air can reenter the bag when expansion is allowed to occur after the tampon is properly located.

Removal of the tampon is easily accomplished by pulling on the end of the cord 7, whereupon the tampon folds upon itself until it can easily slide out of the passage. Here again the larger disc is assisted in its folding action by the central orifice 5.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the central orifice 5 may be eliminated without departing from the scope of my invention and that other small changes may be made.

I claim:

1. In a bodily orifice seal of the character described, a plurality of annular vari-sized relatively resilient discs, said discs held in juxtaposition by fastening means adapted to protrude from said bodily orifice, said disks being enclosed in a non-absorbent casing.

2. In a bodily orifice seal of the character described, a pair of annular vari-sized and relatively resilient discs loosely held together by a cord-like fastening, said fastening adapted to protrude from said orifice and said discs and one end of said cord-like fastening being enclosed within a non-absorbent casing.

3. In a bodily orifice seal of the character described, a pair of annular vari-sized resilient and compressible discs loosely held together by a cord-like fastening, said fastening adapted to protrude from said orifice; said discs and one end of said cord-like fastening being loosely enclosed within a non-absorbent casing, said casing having an opening for access and egress of air.

4. In a bodily orifice seal of the character described, a pair of resilient and compressible discs, one disc being of greater diameter than the other and having an aperture at its center, said discs being loosely held in juxtaposition by a cord looped through said discs, said discs and one end of said cord encased in a non-absorbent liquid proof envelope open to the atmosphere in proximity to one end of the smaller disc and an extension of said cord adapted to protrude from said orifice.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,401,358 Peterkin Dec. 27, 1 921 2,176,114 Wells Oct. 17, 1939 2,499,414 Rabell Mar. 7, 1950 2,832,342 Wingenroth Apr. 29, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 473,616 Germany Mar. 19, 1929 718,042 France Oct. 2.7 1931 

